It seems to be cumulative. The first two or three are pretty
instantaneous, but after several quick shots there is a delay. There seems to be more
delay when the batteries are on the decline. I have done five or six in
succession at birthday parties, but sooner or later there is a delay. Mine came with
rechargeable batteries, but I mostly just keep a pack of AA's with me.
My Nikon has a super battery. We spent two weeks in Ireland and took
hundreds of pictures without a recharge but there is a flash delay with it too
if I take several flash pictures in succession.
I would check out the Sony Cybershot too. I have seen some good pictures
taken with it. I have one of them too but mine was new when 3.2 megapixals
was top of the line. I am thinking of getting one of the new ones for my
husband.
There are some websites where you can ask about various cameras and
compare data. I haven't done it for a while, but the flash information might be
out there somewhere.